Office of Government, Legislative, and Community Relations

Advocacy @ The Beach brings together a network of volunteer alumni and friends with a commitment to higher education and CSULB. The volunteers (called Advocates) use their considerable power to influence the legislative process that impacts student access, success, and affordability. With the support of volunteers, higher education will continue to be a formidable backbone of the nation's economic prosperity that meets the needs of civil society.

Students interested in policy, politics, and advocacy will find an array of internship opportunities in California and nationally. Local area legislators are particularly interested in providing internships for CSULB students seeking to perform volunteer public service.

Write to us at advocacy@csulb.edu to let us know how graduating from CSULB has influenced your life. This is a new HOT spot where you as graduates can be featured.

To inaugurate this column, read a letter from Guy Heston, who points out that “Here is a disturbing fact that I think is a real eye opener. Among persons 65 and older, California is the 4th most highly educated state; among persons 25 and under we are the 40th. This statistic speaks volumes about our state’s disinvestment in higher education. Because of redistricting and term limits, up to half of the State Assembly is expected to be made up of new members after the November elections. They will need to be educated about the value of CSU to all Californians.”

CSULB's economic activities generate $2.8 million daily in the region's economy. State appropriations account for only 43 percent of the university's revenue. For every dollar of appropriations income invested in California State University, Long Beach, the university generates another $4.33 in economic activity.

On October 12, 2001, Governor Gray Davis signed into law Assembly Bill 540 (Stats. 2001, ch. 814) that added a new section 68130.5 to the California Education Code. Section 68130.5 created a new exemption from the payment of nonresident tuition for certain nonresident students who have attended high school in California and received a high school diploma or its equivalent. [Education Code section 68130.5].